Yes! Thank goodness you fucked up again, Spaw. I would have had to cancel an appt with the cable company! and you know what they could do to me for trifling with them. As it is, I do have a committment for A11 but I think I can work around it.

back from a cold winchelsea caravan but otherwise nice time.my thoughts and prayers with you.may memories bring solace as well the inevitable sadness. good to hear encouraging report on billy .blessings on all . pete.

Morning crew, spent a beautiful sunny day yesterday, walking through the woods at Marks Hall Essex, taking photos of where mum was stationed in WW2 for a memory book I am making for her. ( letters from 1943 thread)

also still here. it is those long term memories that mean so much to the elderly.my dad loves to recount those days.i plan to take him on another tour of romney marsh soon and revisit his farming,country life youth.pete.

I've been here, too, although I am having a computer (laptop) problem. Not the internet connection this time but a screen that fades to dark if it is not opened to exactly a certain narrow acute angle, the degree of which seems to vary from minute to minute. Sometimes I can barely poke my nose between the keyboard and screen. Anyway, the date and time of Jane's funeral are in my old-fashioned calendar book, so I'll be thinking of her, Nigel, and Ann at that time whether or not my computer is functioning.

Hope you are on the road to recovery, Allison. Enjoying the memories vicariously you are sharing Wendy, on the other thread. Holding Spaw close as well as the rest of you in my heart. Aching for you Nigel and Ann,....and headed for bed now, way tooooo late.

With Jane's funeral getting ever closer, I won't be posting much, if at all, for the next week or two. Stay on board 'The Rainbow', no need to set a course, she knows exactly to where she's heading next Thursday. I have it on good authority that fair winds & a calm sea are guaranteed. Ann & I carry you all in our hearts, our Dearest, Most Caring & Loving Friends.

Billy had a call from his research nurse this morning, the results are back from Leeds University where the Trial he has been taking part in is based. They have said he is in remission! I am feeling a little numb at the moment, but want to thank everyone on The Rainbow for sailing with us this past year, just sending so much love to you all.

Nigel and Ann, without you both and Jane none of us would be here together in calm or rough seas, so thank you , thank you. Bill and I will be with you on Thursday and sailing on.

Got you tucked in right next to 'Spaw, Kat. Whether you have energy and mobility to post much right now about how you are faring, know that you are surrounded by a sturdy and supportive crew.

Thinking about what a broad and beamy boat this is, and in terms of the heart, caring and concern, always at safe harbor to the extent safe harbor means surrounded by fellow travelers who are paying attention and joining together with loving kindness.

Wendy, I hope your numbness is receding, to be replaced with hope & optimism.

Spaw, holding you in our thoughts with Love & Care. As my namesake (the 'T' issue is of no consequence at times like this!), please get well.

Kat, may the healing rays of the spring sunshine warm you & restore you.

Most of Jane's funeral arrangements are done now. Just a few small details to attend to &........

Be with us on 11th, 1:00pm (UK time) if you can. Sing, rejoice, give thanks for a beautiful lady who brought joy into so many peoples lives. Her generosity, kindness & zest for life lives on in her Children, With Love to You All, Nigel & Ann. xxxxxxxxxx

I remember feeling stunned that life rolls on, even though I couldn't understand how that was possible.

Nigel, as we have noted, I'm not a religious believer either, but am certainly culturally Christian and faith based songs still bring much comfort, and healing tears as metaphor. I think immortality is real - in memory, and in influence, even after those with memories have passed on themselves. The following brought tears to my eyes, as well as solace. Hope there is some solace for you also.

A few years ago I took ago I took Qi Gong classes at my local Y. Among the participants were a woman,, M, and her adult daughter, S, who was the mother of a school-age daughter, A, who was too young to participate in the classes. Regarding M and S, I thought, "How nice that a mother and daughter are taking these classes together, although sometimes I thought M was being overly protective. S was very thin and often said her lower back hurt. I told her that one yoga technique was to simply bend over, resting torso on thighs and lowering head toward floor. (We were seated during this portion of class.) She tried it and said it brought some relief and did it again during the next several weeks of classes. I occasionally wondered why a woman so young and slim could have such severe and frequent back pains but never asked because I didn't want to pry. Then for a few weeks M and S were missing from classes. One week our instructor told us that S had died from cancer. I went back through the online obits to find hers. After her diagnosis she had embraced alternative therapies and shamanism. Mary returned to class a few times, really to say goodbye to us and say that A and her dad were doing as well as could be expected under the circumstances. That was the last I saw of M until few weeks ago when she appeared in a yoga class ((My Y no longer offers Qi Gong.) The class was too hard for M, but I told her about some other classes that are better for an older beginner and she has been coming to some of them. She now meets her granddaughter when she gets off the school bus and cares for her until her father gets home from work. The point of all of this is that yes, life continues, but sometimes it takes a few years to get back on track and head in a new direction, though of course she will always miss S. And I'm aways delighted to see M when she comes to a class and happy that she didn't give up after her first too-hard yoga class.

ChanteyLass & Janie, between the two of you, you've managed to fill my afternoon with joy & tears in about equal measure. I love good stories that are told directly from one's Life Experiences & I love good songs that derive their genesis from Lifes' Experiences. You gave me/us, both. I spent most of this morning getting a beautiful photograph of Jane enlarged & framed. It will stand alongside her coffin on Thursday. I cried at the copy shop & I cried at the picture framers & then I cried some more because the framer refused to take any money for his work. He said he couldn't imagine what we were going through & the framed photo was a gift that represented his condolences. That, from a complete stranger....I'm crying again..... With Love to You All, Nigel & Ann. xxxxxxxxxx

that was so lovely of the framer.when we lost a dear friend who was an artist we had one of his paintings framed.he had given us the norfolk seascape not long before he died.the framing was expensive but sets the painting beautifully.

What a wonderful thing for the framer to do. I was talking to my step-granddaughter the other day, who was concerned about all the bad news in the world. I told her that there are a lot of good people doing good things - they just don't make good news. I will pass on this amazing piece of generosity to her.

Nigel, Spaw, Wendy, kat, maeve and near a dozen others that I know of in our community who are hard put at the moment (yeah, seems a lot of it is going around)... peace and rest to you tonight as your are able. Bless all.